reading the life of a loved one
by clutzrox
Summary: Jhon, Helen, Ian Rider, Yassen, Smithers, Blunt, and Jones get together to read a group of books that future Smithers sent to them. May change a few things from original plot.  Rated M for possible lemons and language. set right after alex is born
1. prologe

The room was dark and musty. There were no windows that light could stream through. The only light source would have come from the few lamps cluttered around the area where it was obvious people were living and the flickering lights on the ceiling.

It was an unused and abandoned warehouse that three men were living in for the time being. It served as an excellent hide out and control center for their current operation. No one important would accidentally stumble into it; and if anyone did then it would be easy to deal with them.

Currently the men were asleep in three small cots across the floor. They were not the most comfortable thing in the world, but the occupants had learned to sleep whenever you can because you never know when you can next.

They didn't sleep long however. They were frighteningly awoken by some sort of banging. They all jerked awake into a sitting position and looked around. The banging echoed through the room again and this time they were able to tell that it was coming from the only door on the far end.

They gently and quietly stood up and each picked up a gun. They soundlessly walked towards the door, in an organized system that they seemed to have made before. They finally reached the door. The youngest one stood to the side and reached for the handle while the older two stood in front with their weapons pointed towards it. Suddenly, with a nod for the other two, the youngest one threw open the door.


	2. Chapter 1

The door flew open.

Yassen Gregoravitch, John Rider, and Ian Rider stood in front of a door. Needless to say they were surprised. The man in front of them was not who they thought it would be. They shared a look and then as one lowered their weapons.

Alan Blunt stood before them. If you've never met Alan Blunt, let me tell you, you are not missing anything. His name really says it all. Everything about him was plain, painfully ordinary. Nothing about him would stand out in a crowd. He had gray hair, he was wearing a gray suit, and even his skin could seem gray.

For all his glory he did however make a nice head of SO division of MI6. The three men had only seen him maybe five times as a whole. And every time a certain miss Tulip Jones was next to him. It was always so much easier to talk to than he was. But now she was painfully obvious that she was missing. Not only was the inconvenient to them but it was also very odd.

"Glad you could join me." He started. They didn't bother to correct him that he was the one that came to them. Not only would it be futile, but it was also a very bad idea to anger someone as important as Mr. Blunt. "Follow me."

He didn't offer any more; no explanation or information. He didn't even ask, he ordered. But either way they followed him. They walked out of the warehouse towards a black car with tinted windows; they wouldn't have expected anything else.

As they approached the driver stepped out of the car and opened the door for them. They slid into the car across from Blunt feeling very out of place. The inside of the car was nice black leather, everything clean and smooth which was the complete opposite of them.

They weren't too bad but they were dirty and they had a small smell. All the things that came with an operation like this, one that they were not able to finish now. This was weird to a new level. Alan Blunt always finished his opps even if he had to sacrifice his agents.

The car was packed with drinks and snacks which they gratefully ate after they were offered to them.

It took a couple of hours of uncomfortable silence before they pulled up at the Royal and General Bank. Don't think that it's actually a bank though because even though they say it is, it is actually the headquarters of MI6. Finally, only once they stopped and the driver opened the door for them did Blunt Speak.

"Clean yourselves up. There are spare clothes in the locker rooms. Once you're done come to my office. We have things to discuss." With that he left without looking back.

"Always a joy," John muttered sarcastically causing his two friends to smile.

Now that Alan Blunt had left so had the driver so the three were able to exit the car and walk towards the bank laughing and talking peacefully. Once they entered the bank the receptionist looked up and smiled at Ian. He gave a smile and winked back. She just rolled her eyes causing Ian to smile wider. He always loved to flirt with her, he had been trying to get a date for years but she had been evading him all along.

"Still having no luck? I would have thought with all that bragging you do you would have had a date with her years ago," Yassen taunted.

"Hey," Ian defended, "she likes me, she just doesn't want to show it."

His brother, John, laughed and Yassen said something that sounded a lot like "Yeah sure" but was too soft to detect with his heavy Russian accent that he wasn't bothering to hide. They walked down to the locker rooms in the basement that had always been of great use to the agents in the building and found the clothes that Blunt had ordered left for them (they had no foolish thoughts that he did it himself) and found a nice meal waiting for them after.

Thirty minutes later they found themselves walking towards Blunts office. They felt great, cleaner and better fed then they had in a long time. This opp had lasted months longer than they thought it should have (it was only supposed to last one or two weeks, but it had actually lasted two months) and it had taken its toll.

They were thinner and paler than they should have been and John was severely missing his family. He was the only one of the three who had made a family for himself and he was upset he couldn't see them. Every night before he went to bed he would look at the picture of him, his wife Helen, and their brand new baby boy, Alex. Alex was older now and he wanted to see how he looked.

They reached Alan Blunts door and knocked.


	3. Chapter 2

They reached Alan Blunts door and knocked.

They waited for an answer but none came. They waited a little longer, still nothing came. They shared an irritable look. They didn't know to do. They didn't feel like waiting outside his door all day but Mr. Blunt wasn't the type of person you walk out on, or in on for that matter.

They were about to sit down and wait when they heard a small voice from inside calling, "enter."

They cleared their faced of all emotion off their faces and swallowed hard. They were not afraid to say they were scared of the man behind the thick door, anyone would have been had they known what he does. And the fact that he wanted to talk to them specifically, that he was willing to pull them out of a mission, and most importantly, that he had collected them himself was terrifying.

John reached for the handle. It was small and cold under his touch, chilling more than it should have. Nonetheless he twisted it and pushed the door open; there was no going back now.

When they entered they saw Alan Blunt sitting behind his thick wooden desk filling out some sort of paperwork with a green ink pen. They couldn't, and were quite frankly too scared to know, what it was about. If it had made it all the way to Blunt it must have been important. And the look on his face gave nothing away; he could have been ordering extra pens or ordering someone's death. Either way they were well trained not to ask.

They could see Blunts deputy, a younger stern looking man who sat motionless and uncaring next to Blunts desk. His name was Jason Pallund. He was new and, in all honesty, was not expected to last long with the was Blunt obviously disliked him.

And if Blunt would show enough emotion to be detected he had to be bad. Not that they'd know, they had never heard the man speak before. Even when they saw him he was just as he is now, an unmoving statue.

Blunt had even gone as far as to bring in a trainee for the job, who was sitting on the other side of his desk. Her name was Ms. Jones, and no one seemed to know her first name. She was the same as the other two, stern and uncaring, though she seemed to have a gentler touch to her. For all intents and purposes she was the deputy, or that's what Blunt tells everyone to call her.

The three men stood along the wall while they waited for Blunt to be done. They didn't dare take a seat without an invitation.

Finally, Blunt closed the folder he was writing in, put his pen neatly back down on his desk, folded his hands together ontop of his desk, and turned to face them.

"No need to stand there," he said politly. His polite words seemed to be betrayed by the emotionless voice. "Please sit down."

He gestured to three empty chairs infront of him. They were wooden but were comfortable as far as regular chairs go which almost surprised them. They quickly, if not hesitantly, walked toward he chairs and sat down. Again there was an uncomfortable silence while no one quite knew what to do or say. It streched on for quite a while and no one seemed too keen to break it. The three behind the desk were playing thier normal rools, and the three infront of it were too scared of what was going to be said if it was broken.

They heard the seconds tick away and had lost track of how long they'd been there a long time ago. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes went by until they heard another knock on the door. And again another "enter" was spoken.

The men were delited to see one very large, pudgy, man walk in. He had a cheerful face full of mischief that the men had always loved.

He was Smithers, the gadget designer for MI6, and what's more he was carrying a large box under his arm. This served both to excite the men and turned them wary. They had always loved his inventions but were unaware of what this one was for. And usually their immediate comanding officer would assign them a mission before they were given their gadgets, and they were usually given to them by one of Smithers assistants, not the man himself though they had been on several occasoins. He was very fun man who injoyed spending time with the agents but he had very many resposibilities and didn't have too much time.

"Hello Mr. Blunt, Mrs. Jones, Mr. Pallund." He started and then laid eyes on the three men and cheered up a little more. "Oh, good, I see you three are here aswell. Perfect timing I must say, perfect timing. Well, Mr. Blunt, I have checked out the package and I have found it to be ture to it's word. Suprised me a little if I must say. I am quite pleased with myself. I have done quite a good job if I do say so myself."

This only served to confuse John, Yassen, and Ian more but seemed to please the others.

Blunt opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by another knock. He didn't look annoyed, he just simply opened his wouth to say a single word: "enter."

The door opened and in the doorway stood a young agent. No one in the room recognised him. He was brand new and had started at the bottom just like everyone else. The person he was escorting, however, did seem to catch the interest of quite a few of the people in the room.

Standing next to the man was a very annoyed and very confused looking woman. She had long light brown hair and brown eyes. She stood tall, almost as tall as the agent himself, and looked beautiful. She was the type of woman any man would love. But she was also had quite a temper, and you didn't want to get onher bad side. And right now she looked like she was going to explode. Jhon and Ian mused in a part of thier brain that wasn't petrified with shock, that she probably would have had it not been the tiny little baby boy in her arms.

But nonetheless when saw three men infront of her she smiled widely in relief and threw herself in the arms of John Rider who stood to recieve her. Despite where he was his face took on a huge grin as he gently kissed the woman on the lips and then lent over the baby boy who had awoken from the motion. The boy held his fist out to John and opened and closed it a couple of times.

The compied and pulled him out of the women arms to cuddle him to his chest, in doing so revieling a messy set of blond hair and wide light brown eyes.

During the exchange John missed the exchange between Smithers and Blunt but the other two caught it. Smithers looked at Blunt expectantly. Blunt seemed to think for a moment before nodding and Smithers grinned widely.

"Ah, Mrs. Rider, I pressume?" he called for her attention. When she nodded he continued. "Baby Rider," He said respecfully to the baby who was playing with John's hair with fascination, ignoring everything else. "Well let's begin. Earlier this week I sent myself these books and I think you would all be interested in them."

**Sorry I know that it has gotten off at a slow start but after the next chapter they start reading.**

**But dont turn it off the next chapter has a lemon in it if that's the type of thing you like.**


	4. Chapter 3

"I sent myself these books…"

"Wait," Helen started before Smithers could finish. She had never really been the quite type but she would have been intimidated by the people in the room had she not known three of them. That did a little to quench her shyness. "You sent yourself some books? I assume that's what's in the package," she looked pointedly to the box in Smithers arms, "but how do you send youself something. And more importantly: why?"

"Well, Mrs. Rider... can I call you Helen?" He waited until he recieved a nod before continuing. "Well Helen, I'm glad you asked. You see..."

He was only to be cut off by Mr. Blunt. Had it been anyone else Smithers would have been a bit put out. But as it is it was Alan Blunt, and even Smithers and his playfulness didn't mess with Blunt.

"Before you begin Mr. Smithers. Mr. Pallund would you excuse us please? This is a sensitive matter and the less ears that hear it the better." He stated it like a question but his tone left no room for argueing. So poor Pallund had no choice but to get up with a stiff nod and leave the room after gathering his things. He did it wihout objection but he didn't look like he was too happy about the whole arrangement.

"You may continue Mr. Smithers," He continued as soon as the door was closed.

"As I was saying: I'm glad you asked that marvalous question Helen. I know this may seem high improbable, but I assure I have checked these books out very thoroughly and I have come to the same conclusion. Oh, dear, I seem to be getting ahead of myself. Well, to answer the question: these books are from the future." That seemed to catch everyones attention. Even Blunt seemed to be as close to interested as anyone had ever seen him. But no one but Helen seemed to look sceptical. Everyone else had known Smithers too long to doubt him. If he had said he had discovered flying unicorns then there were flying unicorns running around somewhere.

"My future self seems to have sent them to me. Now before you ask: No, I have not read the books. I dont even know what they are about. I have only read the title which is exactly why I have not opened them, which I must admit I was intrigued to do. But I felt this was a matter we should all do together. I must warn you this might come as a shock to you."

With that said he set the box down on the desk and opened it. He pulled out a book and looked at it, then looked up satisfied.

"Ah, here we are. This is the first book." He turned it to face the occupants of the room, and uppon reading the title they all looked to the small boy who seemed to be trying to rip hs fathers hair from his head. They heard Helen gasp as she looked back and forth from the book to her son. "Alex Rider, Stormbreaker," Smithers read unnecessarily.

Silence filled to room and didn't leave. No one wanted to break it, or knew what to break it with. Alex seemed to have realised this, or maybe he was just tired of playing with his fathers hair and wanted some other attention, for he becided, after quiet a while of silence, to say some incoherent babble while reaching towards his uncle, Ian.

"Well," Blunt supplied as Ian pried Alex out of his fathers grasp and started bouncing him on his knee while he squeeled in joy. "we should start tomorrow. Be at the conference room at none o'clock. Now I have some buissness to attend to. I'm sure you can see yourselves out." Ah, Blunt, always getting straight to the point. And with those warm parting words he stood and walked toward the door with Jones right at his heels. Smithers said a cheery good-bye, packed up his books, and with one chuckle at Alex was gone leaving the four younge adults alone in the room.

"So this is Alex?" Yassen said with a little bit of hesitation. He was the only one who had never met the boy before as he was on a mission that mixed with the one they had just ended and had not been home for quiet some time.

"Yes," Ian replied. His voice seemed to have softened a bit since holding Alex, and the others would have teased him about it if they had not had the same problem. "Would you like to hold him?"

"Um.." Yassen started but it was already to late, Ian was already handing the baby to him. Yassen held him unccertainly while Alex cocked his head to the side and started at him. "Ya," Alex cried so suddenly he almost dropped the boy. "What?" Yassen said confusedly.

Alex pointed on tiny fist as Ian and said, "In." Then he moved his hand until it was pointing at John and said, "da." Again he moved to point at Helen and cried, "ma." He moved his fist to point at himself and said, "al." Finally he pointed at Yassen and yelled, "ya."

Alex seemed to think very hard about something before saying, "teddy" and hugging Yassen's chest. To say that he was shocked was an understatment. He wasn't the hugging type, or the baby type for that matter. But even he had to admit it was a little cute. but that didn't stop him from being scared.

"Jeese, Yass, you look like you're going to piss yourself. It's just a little boy. Right?" Ian said and looked at John and Helen for support but neither of them seemed to be able to give it seeing as they were both staring at Alex like he was the best thing ever to happen to the wrold. Which in their eyes probably wasn't that far from the truth. "What?" he asked them in confussion, looking back at Alex.

"He... He said everyone's name," Helen whispered in amazment only just reminding Ian of what Alex had done. "He called me dad," John said in joy before realizing what position Alex and Yassen were in before seeing the terrified look on Yassens face and fell over laughing. Helen just chuckled slightly and took Alex from Yassen, smiling at the grateful look on Yassen's face.

"Come on everybody," Helen said once she finally got a sqirming Alex settled. "Let's go home." And they did, leaving the building and filling into Helen's mini-van and headed to a nice looking , cosy, two story house on the edge of town. They all lived together. It might seem wierd because two of them were married and living with two others that are not, but they found this easier because the men were usually gone a lot and the one's who were still, if any at all, there could help out with the baby.

They walked into the house and colapsed onto the couches in exauhtion. While John played with Alex, Helen cooked dinner in the large kitchen. Alex was playing with his stuffed animals and kept handing the to John whenever he was done with them while John watched him with a loving, amused look. Helen came out a while later with some food for everyone. After dinner, and of course dessert they sat up for a while and talked about their mission, though they weren't supposed to they knew that Helen would never tell anyone, they decided to go to bed.

Ian took one look at John who was staring at Helen with an experession both Ian and Yassen knew well and, chuckling, picked up a yawning Alex while saying, "looks like your staying with me tonight, little buddy."

Helen gave him a questioning look while John sent him a playful glare. Yassen only smirked before moving to dump his plate in the sink and going to bed. Ian fallowed and after his plate was done with he picked up Alex and went to settle him into his crib before going to bed himself. Helen, too tired to force one of the boys to do the dishes or do them herself left them and went to her and John's bedroom and John fallowed her after dumping their dishes in the sink. When he got there he kicked off his shoes and socks and flopped onto the bed putting his arms behind his head watching Helen.

"What?" she asked amused looking back at him.

"You know what I feel like doing now?" he shot back with a wink.

**SORRY! I KNOW I PROMISED A LEMON, AND I REALLY AM TRYING BUT I'VE NEVER WRITTEN ONE BEFORE AND NOTHING I DO SOUND GOOD. SO IF YOU WANT TO AND WOULD BE SO KIND TO MAKE ONE OF YOUR OWN AND SEND IT TO ME I WOULD LOVE IT. BETWEEN ANY TWO CHARACTERS YOU WANT. **

**BUT PLEASE DON'T INCLUDE ONE PERSON (EXSPECIALLY IF THEY ARE A GIRL) SAYING ANYTHING LIKE "MAKE LOVE TO ME" OR "I'M YOURS" OR "TAKE ME". I FIND THAT SEXIST LIKE ONE PERSON OWNS THE OTHER. IT'S UNEQUAL AND I DON'T LIKE IT. SORRY IF YOU DO LIKE THAT, IT'S JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION, I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY ONE IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER.**

**I'LL PUT SOME OF THEM IN THE STORY WHERE I FEEL THE STORY NEEDS ONE AND I WILL TOTALLY MAKE SURE I GIVE YOU COMPLETE CREDIT FOR IT UNLESS YOU DONT WANT IT.**

**PLEASE HELP ME!**

**LOVE YOU ALL.**


	5. Chapter 4

The next morning Helen and John got up early. They had a small an silent breakfast with Ian and Yassen. No one talked much, except to ask someone to pass the eggs. They were too tense. Dispite the fact that they were excited to get the chance to know what their son or nephew was going to be like, they were going to read about their future, good or bad.

And they couldn't help but think that the future was going to be bad. Well, why would the future Smithers send them the book if he didn't want them to change something.

Ian and Yassen drove themselves to the Bank in Ians sleek black car while John and Helen finished up getting ready. They did have a baby after all, so it was going to take them longer. They got themselves ready to walk out the door before they put everything that Alex might need in a bag and got him dressed and cleaned.

By the time they got to that bank Alex was already sleeping. John had often joked that he slept too much, that he could sleep a full nine hours at night and still be tired enough for three naps. They were directed by the secretary at the dest into a cosy conference room.

The room had obviously been redone for this occasion because instead of a table there were chairs. There was one couch, two love seats, and two plush chairs all surrounding a small coffee table which held the box of books. The walls were a plain white and the furniture didn't match, but it was much better than sitting in plastic chairs all day.

Yassen and Ian had taken the couch already while Smithers took up all of the first love seat. Mrs. Jones and Blunt had already placed themselves in the chairs and were staring straight ahead, not seeming to look at anything but they could all feel their eyes. That left Helen and John to take the remaining love seat while John laid Alex down in his lap.

"So," Smithers began breaking the looming silence in the air. "Shall we read."

No one said anything. They just nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll read the first chapter, shall I?" Again he got no respose so he just picked up the first book, one named Stormbreaker and flipped the page to chapter one.

**FUNERAL VOICES. **He read.

"That doesn't sound good," Ian mumbled, though everyone heard him. They didn't say anything but they all agreed. They didn't like how this book was turning out. They finally knew behind a shadow of a doubt that this book wasn't going to be good and they didn't like it.

**When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it's never good news.**

"That's true," John admemded.

**Alex Rider was woken by the first chime. His eyes flickered open, but for a moment he stayed completely still in his bed, lying on his back with his head resting on the pillow. He heard a bedroom door open and a creak of wood as somebody went downstairs. The bell rang a second time, and he looked at the alarm clock glowing beside him. There was a rattle as someone slid the security chain off the front door.**

**He rolled out of bed and walked over to the open window, his bare feet pressing down the carpet pile. The moonlight spilled onto his chest and shoulders. Alex was fourteen, already well built, with the body of an athlete. ****His hair, cut short apart from two thick strands hanging over his forehead, was fair. His eyes were brown and serious.**

"Just like his father," Helen said lovingly while running a hand through her sons hair as he slept. "I bet he's handsome too."

** For a moment he stood silently, half hidden in the shodow, looking out. There was a police car parked outside. From his secondfloor window Alex could see the black ID number on the roof and the caps of the two men who were standing in front of the door. The porch light went on and, at the same time, the door opened.**

**"Mrs. Rider?"**

**"No. I'm the housekeeper. What is it? What's happened?"**

"I wonder where I am," Helen mused. She seemed the most comfortable to speak. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that everyone else was in the same room as thier boss and unlike Helen they all knew what they were capable of.

**"This is the home of Mr. Ian Rider?"**

Yassen, Ian, John, and Helen all sent each other confused looks. Maybe he was just staying at his uncles house for the weekend, they all thought.

**"Yes."**

**"I wonder if we could come in..."**

**And Alex already knew. He knew from the way the police stood there, awkward and unhappy. But he also knew from the tone of their voices. Funeral voices... that was how he would describe them later. The sort of voices people use when they come to tell you that someone close to you has died.**

"No," John cried before he could stop himself. Ian was his little baby brother. He didn't want anything to happen to him, much less death. He swore to protect him, especially since he joined MI6. He looked over to Ian to see him looking down sadly.

Alex, who had woken up, held his hands up to his uncles and cooed. Ian smiled softly and hugged his nephew to his chest for comfort.

No one else seemed to know what to say so Smithers kept reading though his cheerful voice didn't seem quite as happy anymore.

**He went to his door and opened it. He could hear the two policemen talking down the hall, but only some of the words reached him.**

**"...a car accident...called the ambulance...intensive care...nothing anyone could do...so sorry."**

**It was only hours later, sitting in the kitchen, watching as the gray light of morning bled slowly through the west London streets, that Alex could try to make sense of what had happened. His uncle - Ian Rider - was dead. Driving home, his car had been hit by a truck as Old Street roundabout and he had been killed almost instantly. He hadn't been wearing his seat belt, the police said. Otherwise, he might have had a chance.**

"That seems odd," John joked trying to lighten the mood. "Ian here always wears his seat belt. If we were boing chased by men with guns and he was driving the get away car he wouldn't go without making us put our seat belt on. He's always been crazy like that."

His joke, though it lightened the mood, didn't seem to have the complete desired effect because Helen suddenly shrieked, "men with guns? You told me that your job was easy and safe."

John flinched at the tone of her voice while Yassen and Ian tried to hide their smile while being relieved that her anger wasn't direfcted at them. They all knew of the famouse Helen Rider temper.

"Of course," John said quickly while looking at Smithers to start reading again. "That was purely hypothetical." Smithers thankfully got the message and began reading agian.

**Alex thought of the man who had been his only relation for as long as he could rememer. **

Instantly the good mood of the room plummeted again.

"Where are we," Helen said sadly but no one answered.

**He had never known his own parents. They had both died in another accident, this one a plabe crash, a few weeks after he had been born. **

They all suddenly remembered the trip that Helen and John were going to take soon and were extremely glad that these books had come when they did, before it was too late.

**He had been brought up by his father's brother (never "uncle" - Ian Rider had ahted that word) and had spent fourteen years in the same terraced house in chelsea, London, between the King's Road and the river. The two of them had always been close. Alex remembered the vacations they'd taken together, the many sports they'd played, the movies they'd seen. They hadn't just been relations, they'd been friends. It was almost impossible to imagine that he would never again see the man, hear his laughter, or twist his arm to get him to help with his science homework.**

"That's good," John joked again. "If I'm not around you better treat my son right. Or I'll find some way to come back and haunt you."

"I wouldn't put it past you," Ian joked back, even though it was half hearted. He had just found out that not only he would die, but his brother and sister in law would too, leaving Alex all alone. He was never really good at lightening the mood like his brother was. What would he do if his brother was killed.

**Alex sighed, fighting against the sense of grief that was suddenly overwhelming. But what saddened him the most was the realization - too late now - that despite everything, he had hardly known his uncle at all.**

**He was a banker. **

"What," John asked looking hurt. He had thought that if his brother had become resposible for his son then he would quit his job to take care of him. Ian himself looked a little confused because he had the same idea.

Blunt decided that this wasn't the time to tell them all that he would never let Ian quit his job. He was way too valuable. Just like he wasn't going to let John quit his job like he had been planning for a few weeks. Jones also decided that she wasn't going to tell them but for a different reason. She felt sympathy for them and didn't want to hurt them anymore while Blunt just thought that it would bring up too many conflicts for the future.

**People said Alex looked a little like him. Ian Rider was always traveling. A quiet, private man who like good wine, classical music, and books. Who didn't seem to habe any girlfriends... in fact, he didn't have any friends at all. He had kept pensively. But that wasn't enough. It wasn't a picture of a life. It was only a thunbnail sketch.**

**"Are you all rigth, Alex?" A younge woman had come into the room. She was in her late twenties with a sprawl of red hair and a round, boyish face. **

"Oh," Yassen mocked. "Did you finally get a girlfriend? After all this time."

Ian tried to shove him while trying not to disterb the baby that was playing with the buttons on his shirt.

**J****ack Starbright was American. She had come to London as a student seven years ago, rented a room in the house - in return for light housework and babysitting duties - and had stayed on to become housekeeper and one of Alex's closest companions. Sometimes He wondered what the Jack was short for. Jackie? Jacqueline? Neither of them suited her and although he had once asked, she had never said.**

**Alex nodded. "What do you think will happen?" he asked.**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"To the house. To me. To you."**

**"I don't know." She shrugged. "I guess Ian woud have made a will," she said. "He'll have left instructions."**

**"Maybe we should look in his office."**

**"Yeah. But not today, Alex. Let's take it one step at a time."**

**Ian's office was a room running the full length of the house, high up on the top. It was the only room that was always locked - Alex had only been in there tree or four times, and never on his own. **

"Well I would hope not," Ian said seriously. "If I didn't quit my job I can't just have him walking in and discovering all my secrets. It could put him in danger."

John and Helen nodded their approval.

**When he was younger. he had fantasized that there might be something strange up there... a time machine or a UFO.**

"Well he's not to ofar off I bet," Helen joked. She honestly had no idea what their job entailed. They didn't correct her because, in all honesty, they had come up against some really wierd stuff and sometimes a UFO would seem normal.

** But it was merely an office with a desk, a couple of filing cabinets, shelves full of papers and books. Bank stuff - that's what Ian had said. Even so, Alex wanted to go up there now.**

**"The police siad he wasn't wearing his seat belt." Alex turned to look at Jack.**

**She nodded. "Yeah. That's what they said."**

**"Doesn't that seem strange to you? You know how careful he was he always wore his seat belt. He wouldn't even drive me around the corner without making me put mine on."**

"Good," John said again.

**Jack thought about it for a moment, them shrugged. "Yeah, it is strange," she said. "But that must have been the way it was. Why would the police have lied?"**

**The day dragged on. Alex hadn't gone to school even though, secretly, he wanted to. He would have preferred to secape back into normal life, the clang of the bell, the crowds of familiar faces, instead of sitting here, trapped inside the house. **

"That's that way I always felt too," Ian said with a small smile. So Alex might grow up to be a little like him after all.

**But he had to be there for the visitors who came throughout the morning and the rest of the afternoon.**

**There had been five of them. A lawyer who knew nothing about any will but seemed to have been charged eith organizing the funeral. A funeral director who had been recommended by the lawyer. A vicar - tall, elderly - who seemed disappointed that Alex refused to cry. A neighbor from across the road - how did she even know that anyone had died? And finally a man from the bank.**

**"All of us as the Royal and General are deeply shocked," he said. He looked about thirty, wearing a polyester suit with a Marks & Spencers tie. He had the sort of facce you forgot even while you're looking at it and had introduced himself as Crawely, from personnel. "But if there's anything we can do..."**

"Wow," Yassen said while everyone from the bank, yes including Jones and Smithers, glared a Blunt who seemed unneffected, though they weren't suprised. "He must be pretty important if they sent Crawley after him. I wonder what they want with him."

**"What will happen?" Alex asked for the second time that day.**

**"You don't have to worry," Crawely said. "The bank will take care of everything. That's my job. You leave everything to me."**

**The day passed. Alex killed a couple of hours knocking a few balls around on his uncle's snooker table - and then felt vaguely guilty when Jack caught himn at it. But what else was he to do? Later on she took him to Burger King. He was glad to get out of the house, but the two of them barely spoke. Alex assumed Jack would have to go back to America. She certainly couldn't stay in London forever. So who would look after him? At fourteen, he was still too younge to look after himself. His whole future looked so uncertain that he preferred not to talk about it. He preferred not to talk at all.**

**And then the day of the funeral arrived and Alex found himself dressed in a dark jacket and cords, preparing to leave in a black car that had come from nowhere surrounded by people he had never met. Ian Rider was buried in Brompton Cemetery on the Fulham Road, just in the shadow of the Chelsea soccer field, and Alex knew where he would have preferred to be on that warm Wednesday afternoon. **

Some of them looked affronted while others, mainly Ian and John, nodded in understanding.

**About thirty people had turned up, but he hardly recognized any of them. A grave had been dug close to the lane that rane the length of the cemetery, and as the service began, a black Rolls-Royce drew up, the back door opened and a man got out. Alex watched him as he walked forward and stopped. Alex shivered. There was something about the new arrival that made his skin crawl.**

**And yet the man was ordinary to look at. Gray suit, gray hair, gray lips, and gray eyes. His face was expressionless, the eyes hehind the square, gunmetal spectacles, completely empty. Maybe that was what had disturbed Alex. Whoever this man was, he seemed to have less life than anyone in the cemetery. Above or below ground.**

"What do you want with my son," John growled while snatching him out of Ian's arms and holding him protectivly to his chest. "You better leave him alone." But Blunt, unfortunatly, didn't seem to even listen to him or porcess his glare, along with everyone else's. He simply looked a Smithers who continued reading not daring to disobey is boss.

**Someone tapped Alex on the shoulder and he truned around to see Mr. Crawely leaning over him. "That's Mr. Blunt," the personnel manager whispered. "He's chairman of the bank."**

John, Yassen, and Ian growled again.

**Alex's eyes traveled past Blunt and over to the Polls-Royce. Two more men had come with him, one of them driving. They were wearing identical suits and, altough it wasn't a particularly bright day, sunglasses. Both of them were watching the funeral with the same grim faces. Alex looked from them to Blunt and then to the other people who had come to the cemetery. Had they really know Ian Rider? Why had he never met any of them before? And why did he find it so difficult to believe that they really worked for a bank?**

**"... a good man, a patriotic man. He will be missed."**

**The vicar had finished his graveside address. His choice of words struck Alex as odd. Patriotic? That meant he loved his country. But as far as Alex knew, he had never been one for waving that Union Jack.**

They all chuckled. If only he knew. Though that thought didn't seem to please anyone because they had a feeling he were about to find out very soon.

** He looked around, hoping to find Jack, but saw instead the Blunt was making his way toward him, stepping carefully around the grave.**

**"You must be Alex." The chairman was only a little taller than him. Up close, his skin was strangely unreal. It could have been made of plastic. "My name is Alan Blunt," he said. "Your uncle often spoke about you."**

**"That's funny," Alex said. "He never mentioned you."**

"Oh, yeah," Helen said with a chuckle. "Deffinately his father's son."

John beamed proudly.

**The gray lips twitched briefly. "We'll miss him. He was a good man."**

**"What was he good at?" Alex asked. "He never talked about his work."**

**Suddenly Crawely was there. "Your uncle was overseas finance manager, Alex," he said. "He was resposible for our foreign branches. You must have known that."**

**"I know he traveled a lot," Alex said. "And I know he was very careful. About thinsgs like seat belts."**

**"Well, sadly, he wasn't careful enough." Blunt's eyes, magnified by the thick lenses of his spectacles, lasered into his own, and for a moment, Alex felt himslef pinned down, like an insect under a microscope. **

Though they didn't say anything they all knew how that felt. Even Helen, who had only met him maybe four times, this included, had been given that look. They didn't sya anything because they didn't want Blunt to know that he had any power over them.

**"I hope we'll meet again," Blunt went on. He tapped the side of his face with a single gray finger. "Yes..." Then he turned and went back to his car.**

**That's when it happened. As Blunt was getting into the Rolls-Royce, the driver leaned down to open the bafck door and his jacket fell open, revealing a stark white shirt underneath. There was a black shape lying against it and that was what caught Alex's eye. The man was wearing a leather holster with an automatic pistol strapped inside. Pealizing what had happened, the driver quickly straightened up and pulled the jacket across. Blunt had seen it too. He turned back and looked again at Alex. Something very close to an emotion slithered over his face. Then he got into the car, the door closed, and he was gone.**

**A gun at a funeral, Alex thought. Why? Why should bank carry guns?**

"Uh, oh," Ian said.

"We all know how John is when he get curious. Let's hope that he didn't pick up that particular trate." Yassen continued while John playfullly glared to them.

**"Let's get out of here." Suddenly Jack was at his side. "Cemeteries give me the creeps."**

**"yes. And quite a few creeps have turned up," Alex muttered.**

Many of them laughed at that. Smithers the hardest as he was happy they finally had something to laugh about.

**Then slipped away quietly and went home. The car that had taken them to the funeral was still waiting, but they preferred the open air. The walk took them fifteen minutes and as they turned the corner onto their street, Alex noticed a moving van parked in front of the house, the words STRYKER & SON painted on its side.**

**"What's that doing...?" he began.**

**At the same moment, the van shot off, the wheels skidding over the surface of the road.**

**Alex said nothing as Jack unlocked the door and let them in, but while she went into the kitchen to make some tea, he quickly looked around the house. A letter that had been on the hall table now lay on the carpet. A door that had been half open was now closed. Tiny details, but Alex's eyes missed nothing. Somebody had been in the house. He was almost sure of it.**

**But he wasn't certain until he got to the top floor. The door to the office, which had always, always been locked, was now unlocked. Alex opened it and went in. The room was empty. Ian Rider had gone and so had everything else. The desk drawers, the closet, the shelves...anything connected to the dead man's work had been taken. Whatever the truth was about his uncle's past, comeone had just wiped it out.**

"Of course," Smithers said. "The bank wouldn't take chances like that. Now that's the ende of the chapter. Hopefully the next one will be more cheery. Who would like to read?"


	6. Help!

People are telling me that FanFiction is stopping all of the stories where they read, which is something I understand because we are displaying other authors books. I don't know what is happening with this. Someone please send me a message back and tell me what is going on and if I can continue the story. I'm really confused.

Thanks.


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